Bunny!

Ahh...Easter...Well, last night's Big Gay Easter party was a success. LOTS of new people at the party all of which were great to have over. Gary and Steve of fortheboys.tv came to the party and I'll say it again...they are the two of nicest, sweetest guys I've met. It was so cool to have them over. Michael, Steve's friend who in town visiting from San Diego, also attended the party. Another really, really funny guy. Can't wait to see him as a guest on tonight's edition of fortheboys.tv. It should prove to be a lot of fun. I also got a chance to finally meet Drew in person. Drew is awesome...and cute too. :-) He's only been in town for a few months but moved out here to get into the TV biz. He's a big game show fan and a Ben Folds fan. The way his eyes lit up when he saw some of the game show stuff at my house was priceless. He reminds me so much of me when I first moved out here a few years ago. He is somebody whom I really hope I'll be seeing more of in the future. I can't wait to see his reaction when he comes to the "Whammy" taping on Tuesday!

All in all, it's just all been good. I can't express how happy I am right now. I'm working on a great show which a lot of people are very excited and eager to see. As the party showed, I have a great bunch of friends and I've got some great new ones that I've made in the past few weeks. I've got a nice place to live in and the best roommates in the world. Life is good right now, dammit! :-)

I'd say the only thing lacking right now is the ol' dating thing...but I'm not getting worked up about it. I still look on PlanetOut and gay.com, but there's really nobody there who's a match. I really want to do things right this time...Find somebody whom I really click with on several levels. The few times I've dated somebody for a decent period of time it's been with people whom I've clicked with but only on one thing...causing things to lose steam after a few weeks or so. Anyhoo, I've entered a "play it by ear" phase...a "play it as it lays" phase...a "whatever happens, happens" phase...ya know what I mean...

Ben Folds One

Still working off a buzz from last night's Ben Folds concert. It was just him and the piano. AWESOME stuff. He's one of the best new artists...NO question about it. And as always, there was a great vibe in the audience. Everybody was into it singing along even to the more obscure songs. Because it was just him and piano, the show was a bit looser than other shows. He had a couple of funny stories to introduce the song and really got the audience involved by having us sing backup parts along with him.

And best of all, the opening act was somebody whom I'd heard of and liked! It was Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy. Like Ben, it was just Neil. It was quite an interesting set because most of The Divine Comedy's songs are heavily orchestrated and Burt Bacharach-ish. To hear them with Neil and just an acoustic guitar was QUITE a treat.

And in just a few hours, I'll be seeing the show yet again. I'd say Ben Folds is one of handful of concert acts I'd see do back-to-back shows...

Everything is going quite peachily...Got a big set of taipngs for "Whammy" coming up next Monday and Tuesday and an even bigger set of tapings the following week. This is probably the most-promoted show I've ever been a part of. The press and advertising they've done so far and have on the horizon are AMAZING.

Met somebody new...well, kinda met somebody last night. My friend Mike introduced me via the wonders of IM to another friend of his named Drew. And through our chat on the phone last night and online, I found out that not only is Drew a big game show fan, but he's a Ben Folds fan as well in addition to being a fan of a lot of music I like. Quite a rare combination and a nice one if I may say so...So, I might be meeting him at the big gay Easter party this weekend along with some other new people. Needless to say, this party on Saturday is shaping up to be quite a fun one!

Get my game face on...

Figured I'd do a little multitasking during my lunch break and type out a blog while I nosh. Just a few quickies for today...

Saturday night, Ted, Larry, and I checked out Kathy Griffin's stand-up show at the Gay and Lesbian center in Hollywood. FUNNY stuff. If you're in the area, you should all go and see it. It's playing the next two Saturdays in March.

As to my Oscar comments...none really. Honestly, I really didn't give too much a care about the Oscars this year and really haven't for a while. The last one I was really psyched to see was when Letterman hosted. We had a few people over to watch. The Halle Berry thing while well-intentioned was a bit drawn-out and overstayed its welcome a 'twee bit too long. A "vessel???" I dunno about that...Denzel's speech was much classier and and to the point.

Last night, Keith and Dave came over to our place for a little mini-game night. Dave is somebody whom I've known since my college days who know lives out here in L.A. and Keith I met online but had never met in person until last night. Both are great guys. Dave's a sweetheart and Keith cracks me up. The games on the menu last night were Outburst, Taboo, Scattergories, and Cranium. All of which I tanked on...My "make an ass of myself" moment of the evening was during "Scattergories" (the electronic, sped-up team version). The category was "News Anchors" and the letter as "O." My response..."Kenny Ortega." That pretty much did me in for the rest of the night. It was all downhill from there! Nevertheless, it was a fun night and it was cool to finally meet Keith and to see Dave after having not seen him for a while.

Lots up ahead for this week...Going to the two Ben Folds concerts at the El Rey tomorrow and Thursday night. It's Ben Folds ONE this time...Just him and the piano. Should prove to be a great concert. And Saturday...it's the Big Gay Easter Shindig. Well, that's not the official title...but I think this will go down as the gayest party we've thrown at our house. I honestly can't wait...We're having a few "newbies" at the party including Gary and Steve from fortheboys.tv In addition, "Twiggles," a friend of Steve's who's one of the callers from the show whom I've gotten to know quite well through the wonders of IM, will be visiting town this week and dropping by the party too. He's a big game show fan, so he's good in my book. :-)

And one last thing...Go out and buy the People magazine issue with the pics from the Liza Minnelli wedding. It's the wedding from the planet Neptune. Oh, what I would have given to be a guest...it puts that Michael Jackson craptacular special to SHAME...

And the mighty ship sails to sea!

Still riding off the buzz from a great couple of tape days for "Whammy!" Yesterday, we taped six shows and they were fantastic! We're really getting into a nice groove with the tapings. We've got some great, enthusiastic contestants and the studio audience seems to be getting into the show. We've had some "classic" PYL situations happen in the games we've taped so far. I must admit though...this has been the hardest show to put together. There are so many elements and pieces to put together, but when they're all there, it's magic. This is by far, the coolest show I've worked on! Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in the show, that I lose sight of the fact that I'm actually working on a new version of "Press Your Luck!" :-)

And I can't say enough good things about Todd Newton. He is so nice and easy to work with and he's got such an enthusiasm for the show that you gotta love him. He's really been putting 150% effort into making this show good and into getting the word out about the show.

Judging from the reactions of the friends of mine from the game show group who've been to the tapings, we've done "good." And I love how a lot of you seem VERY excited about the show. I've never seen this much buzz about a show before its premiere. And thank you for the kind comments you've said about us in E-mails or newsgroup posts. However, I've already noticed some griping and criticism from postings I've seen on various Internet message boards and newsgroups. Granted, one of the posters said he was at a taping, but that's just one person's opinion. A lot of the other criticism have been from people who've only seen clips from the promos we've done. And those clips aren't even from the series...they're from the PILOT! It's as if people are trying to find negative things to say about the show.

So, lemme address some of the concerns that people have talked about on the 'net:

First of all, the game board...It does look different, but it's essentially the same odds as the 80s show. 18 monitors with three different things in each monitor. A few of you have made complaints about how it looks in the VERY brief split-second clip that pops up in the promos. For one thing, the clip in the promo is from the pilot. As I mentioned on this website before, we have bumped up the size of the monitors on the game board and contestant podium for the series. It has a MUCH grander scale to it. I stood next to board. This sucker is BIG. And it looks that way on camera. There was a complaint of it looking cluttered. That is NOT the case especially with the bigger monitors. It's not quite a rectangle, but there is a bit more symmetry to the board that we had in the pilots we taped.

And speaking of the game board, according a person who said he was at a taping, there is no "Big Bucks" space. That is NOT true. There is a "Big Bucks" space that works just like the old show. And just like the old show, it lies directly UNDER the true big bucks space.

The biggest controversy seems to be about the Double Whammys. I think they're cute and a neat little twist on the old concept of the Whammy animations. And it achieves an important thing...it distinguishes it from the old show and more importantly it's an eye-catching thing for the channel-flipper. It's a new "hook" that will attract the non-game show junkie. Case in point...The time I showed the pilot to a few of my non-game show fan friends, that's what they wanted to see more of...the Double Whammys. One was muttering..."Double Whammy...Double Whammy...Double Whammy..." as the board spun.

Another thing is...it's a unique change, but one that does NOT distract from gameplay. The game is really the same as the old version with the exception of the first round, which I feel injects some excitement in the first round that was lacking in the 80s version.

All I ask you is trust us and reserve judgment until you see the show premiere on April 15th on Game Show Network. It airs at 10 PM Eastern and 7 PM Pacific and reruns at 1 AM Easter and 10 PM Pacific. Trust us...there are a LOT of game show fans working on this and fans of the 80s "Press Your Luck" working on this. We have taken the utmost care to update it to attract a new audience while still keeping the game intact so as not to piss off the die-hard fans of the old show.

And to those of you asking me for pics and copies of the pilot. I'm sorry, but no can do on the copies of the pilot. As to pics, I'll be taking some on the set eventually but I'll wait 'til the show premieres before putting them up so as to leave a little bit of surprise for you guys. :-)

My friend Brad who does the most excellent "Press Your Luck" page and Game Show Central site has started work on a section dedicated to the new version. From what he's told me about the new site, it's gonna be fantastic!

So basically...hang tight, gang. Be patient...April 15th will come sooner than you think and you'll see a show which I think you'll all like!

Wish me luck!

I know it's been a while yet again since I've posted...But it's been a hell of a busy week. Just today, I was bouncing between three different projects at work, the most immediate of which is "Whammy!" In my head, I kept hearing that song they used to play on the Ed Sullivan show when they'd have those guys spinning plates do their act. Anyhoo, honestly, not too much new to report on that I can expound upon in detail. We've got two big tape days up ahead for "Whammy!" The first is tomorr...actually technically, later today. And the other follows tomorrow. I best be getting to bed...I'll be back with a new blog entry by this weekend!

In the beginning...

Wow...It's been a while since I've put up a post...First of all, Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody. I know I'll be celebrity my Irish roots today by watching a little Jimmy Fallon on the "SNL" I TiVOed last night...

Well, we did it..."WHAMMY! The All-New Press Your Luck" is up and running. It's been a LONG week. Lots of work to do and we put some good episodes to tape on Friday. There were the usual bumps that happen with a first tape day, but overall, it was a success. What amazed me most was how Todd did. His energy did NOT drop all day. He was totally "on," even for the promo shoot he did after taping wrapped Friday night. He's a real trooper. Everything else was great. The board looks fantastic...the Whammys as you probably have seen in the Game Show Network promos are phenomenal. I kinda got so wrapped up in all of this that it wasn't until yesterday when I saw some promos on GSN that I realized that we actually taped new episodes of "Press Your Luck!"

Speaking of those promos, they are popping up more often on Game Show Network. There have been a bunch of "Whammy" audition promos and there's a new one featuring clips of contestants getting Whammied in the pilot. The podiums for the series look a bit sleeker. Plus, there's the return of pop-up Whammys except this time, the pop-up Whammys are 3-D figurines.

As to what else has been going on in Mandel-land...not much. I've pretty much been living and breathing "Whammy" for the past several days. I took a little break this weekend to take care of some errands and catch up on other stuff. Last night, Ted, Larry, and I helped Erin to celebrate her birthday. We had a good time. Erin even dragged me into breaking my boycott of "Dance, Dance Revolution" and playing it. I still lost...I hate that game soooooooooo much. And that brings us today...Gonna get my car cut and my hair washed...Whoops, I mean, my hair cut and my car washed and rest up for another busy week. We've got two tape days scheduled at the end of the week for "Whammy!" But as I say...it's a very GOOD busy!

Yesterday has been and gone...

Long day at work yesterday. Didn't get home until 10:30-ish. I was helping to book questions for the inaugural taping of "Whammy." Got home a bit earlier tonight allowing me to play a little TV catch-up. Watched the season premiere of "Amazing Race 2." It's still a great show. My only beef...Yet again, the gay contestants that they picked are bitchy and stuck-up...One of them in a soundbite said, "It's going to be hard getting adjusted to flying coach...I don't know if I can drink 7-UP after drinking champagne for so long..." Oy...To the other reality show producers out there...I BEG YOU...It's great that you're spotlighting gay contestants, but for goodness sake, can we find some that aren't so catty and bitchy?!? Even Jon, on "Survivor: Marquesas" had a little bitchy moment on last week's "Survivor." And don't tell me Gabriel is gay...because nowhere has he come out either in interviews or on the show.

I think I've found my first favorite new show of 2002..."The Osbournes" on MTV. It seems to be "The Real World" meets a screwed-up version of "Ozzie and Harriet." It's the most ludricrous thing I've seen on TV in a while. I don't know what it was, but I could NOT stop cracking up at watching Ozzy try to figure out how to turn on his vacuum cleaner.

My bed is beckoning...I should take advantage of this opportunity to get some extra sleep!

Let me ask a question...You can make a guess...

Spent most of the day at home...Diddled on the piano, did some work for "Whammy!" and did some procrastinating on the web. One cool site which I just love is 80stvthemes.com. I believe it's the only place where you can get the theme to "Grand," a short-lived sitcom that aired on NBC in 1989. It basically was an updated version of "Soap." I think I was one of the few that liked the show. It didn't hurt that it had a nice theme song. The one on the site is the earlier version before they "rocked" it up. My favorite part of the site are the network promo songs from the early 80s.

Saw "Zoolander" last night at a friend's place. FUNNY stuff. And for once, a performance by Will Ferrell really had me busting out laughing. And maybe it's just me, but every time I see Owen Wilson on TV or in the movies, I just want to reach through the screen and crack his nose into place...I dunno...

GSN has started airing promotions for "WHAMMY! The All-New Press Your Luck" featuring the new Whammy auditioning for the part. I still find it hard to believe that I'm actually part of all this! Between this and the "Greed" reruns, come April 15th, Game Show Network will be airing two show I've been involved with! And to think that a little over seven years ago I was trading tapes with the privileged few that had access to satellites that could get the network...

And I'd like to make a statement that as of today, I officially HATE "Dance, Dance Revolution..." It is an evil, evil game that mocks and taunts me with its "Boos!" and proclamations that I "FAIL" every time I play it. Damn you "Dance, Dance Revolution" and your cheesy remake of Olivia Newton-John's "Have You Ever Been Mellow?" Damn you "Dance, Dance Revolution" and your sorry-ass aspirations to usurp the Nintendo Power Pad's place in history. Damn you "Dance, Dance Revolution" and your flying arrows of dance, dance rhythm and "cute" Japanese anime versions of hip American kids. Damn you "Dance, Dance Revolution..." Damn you to hell and to the video game nether regions where the Power Glove, TurboGrafx-16, and "E.T." game for the Atari 2600 lay and rot in waste...

To close things out...I'd like to wish my sister Marylauren a happy 20th birthday today! Hip, hip...Hooray!

Happy, happy, joy, joy....

After a long and somewhat draining day working on "Whammy!" I came home to a bit of news that I can't say I'm surprised by, BUT I'm quite happy to see in print...Here's the article.

Yes, Will Young (a.k.a. my new infatuation and my "future husband") is the GAY! Joking all aside and fantasizing all aside, I have to say that it's really cool that he came out, especially at such an early stage in his career and especially given how he's kinda gained this "teen heartthrob" status in the UK. Good for him. Go, WILL! Rosie, eat your heart out...THIS is a coming-out story that I'm interested in...

Now, I gots to figure out some way to have a meet-and-greet for him at our company's US offices. I mean, he really should see how the US operations of the company that produced the show that gave him his stardom works, right? :-)

On a somewhat ranting side-note...What's up with that Wendy's and the Panda Express at the Empire shopping plaza in Burbank. I dropped by there at 7:30 tonight to grab a bite to eat and the drive-thru line at the Wendy's practically spilled into the driveway the winds around the shopping plaza. I would've jumped next door to the Panda Express but the line was just as bad. And I would have parked and done the whole thing take-out, but the lines were long at both places. I ended up staying in the drive-thru line for Wendy's. What's the point of all this...There needs to be MORE Wendy's in the L.A./Valley area!!!!! For goodness sake, the line at the Krispy Kreme was short!

Dance, dance, devolution

OY...Soooo much to do at work today and still much to do this weekend. I got home JUST in time to watched Tedward on fortheboys.tv. Unsurprisingly, he was a hit on the show. Goooooooo Ted! Matt and I called in and were on for pretty much most of the show. Gary, if you're reading this...I'm STILL chuckling over that Gloria Estefan impersonation. PRICELESS...Caleb actually came over to watch the show with Larry and me at our wonderful abode in Toluca Lake.

After the show was over, Larry brought out the new toy he got for the Playstation. It's basically a home version of the "Dance, Dance Revolution" control pad. It even lights up when you step on it. Visions of the "Billie Jean" video dance in my head...I even gave it a shot and proved why I'm such a disgrace ot the Asian community....No, actually...I proved why I'm such a disgrace to the gay Asian community. I can't "dance, dance revolution" to save my life...EVEN while the playing the game to a remake of Olivia Newton-John's "Have You Ever Been Mellow?"! Speaking of which...that's such a nice song...One of my favorites of her pre-"Grease" stuff. It's right up there with "I Honestly Love You."

In any case, it make me want to regress more to the Colecovision (with Atari 2600 adapter, of course) in my room and play "lock-jaw" Pac-Man or Yar's Revenge. Ahh...you should all check this out...It's a warning manual that came with the "Dance, Dance Revolution" pad. Gotta love that stilted Japanese-English translation. Now, I know what Pink Lady have been up to since their show got cancelled!

Seeing how late work went today, I think it's a safe bet that for the next week or so, the journal updates will be few and far between...or is it far and few bewteen? Oh whatever...I probably won't be putting up entries as often as usual. We've got the first taping coming up at the end of next week and it seems like it's getting here faster and faster. I must say that this show is probably the most dense, intricate show to put together. It makes me appreciate the work that Bill Carruthers and the rest of the original "Press Your Luck" staff did during the 80s.

Type, ohhhhhh

So, the subject of Will Young has popped up in many IMs that I've had recently. Upon showing one of his fan sites to a friend, the friend replied that he's "British cute." And with that, I think I've found a name for one of my key "types." While I'll be the first to admit, I don't have ONE type (which will be explained in the "What a Boy Wants" section of my page that has yet to appear...), the "British cute" type ranks near the top of my list of "types." What's British cute? I'd say...boyish, fair-skinned, kinda waify, blue-eyed or green-eyed, not rugged, but sometimes scruffy, light-brownish hair, great smile, and of course...a nice British accent. Who epitomizes that "British cute" type? Well, Will Young for one...I'd also say that I can put Stephen Gately, Jude Law, Ewan MacGregor (I know he's Scottish), and Danny Roberts from "The Real World: New Orleans" (I know he's American!) into that "look." And what are those other types that I happen to like? There's the "Preppy All-American Boy-Next-Door" type, the "East Coaster-artsy-urban hipster" type, and the "funny-cocky-badboy-wiseass on the outside but sweet-and-adorable-on-the-inside" type. Any single gay guys in the L.A. area between the ages of 21 and 32 that fit any of the above, please E-mail me...I'm taking applications now... :-)

And gawd, that was the most desperate thing I've done. I think the next step from here is simply walking around with a big arrow pointed to my head labeled, "Single and REALLY, REALLY Looking."

Anyhoo, more "Whammy!" fun today as we did another run-through. We are just several days away from the inaugural taping of the show. I can't believe it...after 16 years, a new episode of "Press Your Luck" will finally be produced! [does happy, happy, joy, joy dance here]

Here's a fun link my friend Mike showed me. I guess that's why our cat Nomi hates me...OH...I've said too much... * blush *

My roomie Ted will indeed be a guest tomorrow night on fortheboys.tv. You can watch it through your web browser live at 8 PM (Pacific)/11 PM (Eastern). You'll need the Windows Media Player plug-in to watch it. He was telling me how Gary and Steve are considering making him a "two-part" interview. Great...First he tops my game show appearance on "Match Game" by winning $9,000 on "Weakest Link" and now this! Hee-hee...I'm JUST KIDDING! Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it really does end up turning into a two-part appearance. If living with Ted is any indication, his guest apperance tomorrow should prove to be a lot of fun for Gary and Steve!

We can be happy underground...

Got my Ben Folds tickets today. I bought tickets to his March 27 and 28 shows at the El Rey theater. I CAN'T wait. The last shows I saw him in there were fantastic. This was last October, I believe. I'm especially excited to see these shows because supposedly it's just him and the piano...no backup band. Ben Folds ONE. And I seem to be the only gay Ben Folds fan in the L.A. area that I know of. Hell, I think I'm the only die-hard Ben Folds fan in the L.A. area...period! Any other Los Angelenos out there that dig the Ben Folds? Anybody planning on going to the big show in the L.A. area? Just curious...E-mail me if you're a fan and/or are going to the show...

At work today, I saw a little clip of a show the company I work for produced in the UK called "Pop Idol". It's a cross between "Star Search," "Making the Band," "Popstars," but the twist is...the viewers decide who becomes the next pop idol. I saw a clip of the winner...Will Young...Take a look at the site and I think you know where this is going...To put it simply, I think I've found the first castaway for Mandel's "Hump Island 2002." Such a great smile and he actually has a great voice. He reminds me of a younger, cleaner-cut version of Robbie Williams. Mmmmmm...My co-worker and I were "fighting" over which of us would host him if he ever visited the L.A. area. :-)

Almost had to turn in my toaster tonight when I couldn't idenitify the disco version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" during a little game on fortheboys.tv tonight. Speaking of those adorable online boys, I believe my roommate Ted is scheduled to be a guest on their show this Friday night. Knowing Ted, it should prove to be a fun interview.

And speaking of games...I've discovered yet another fun little music game to play along the lines of the "We Are the World" game I described in last night's blog. It's the "Main Street Electrical Parade" song game. This one is best played with the extended version which I'm sure you can find on some MP3 sight. In this game, you have to try to guess the identity of the "electro-synthesized" versions of the different Disney songs that pop up in the "Electrical Parade" medley. There are quite a bit in the long version of the medley.

Ben Folds, Champaign, and Vicki Lawrence...

What do all of these people have in common? They're all in my CD changer at the moment. I've come to realize that I've got pretty screwed-up music tastes. Upon review, over the past week, my CD collection has contained a "soft-ass" music CD mix I made with such stellar artists as Christopher Cross (not the one that makes you "jump, jump" but the one that makes you "think of Laura") and Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry out Loud," Ben Folds (Five) CDs, the Gorillaz CD, ABBA's "Super Trouper", a random pop mix where the CD goes from Vicki Lawrence's "The Night the Lights Went in Georgia" to the full version of the "Main Street Electrical Parade," and to top it all off, a CD of music cues from "The Price is Right" (some of the best prize cues in game show history...in my opinion).

Actually, in scanning through my CDs in my CD changer, Ted and I played a fun little game you should all try out some time...it's the "We are the World" game. Basically, the next time you listen to USA for Africa's "We are the World," try to guess who the next singer is before he or she starts singing. I was frighteningly good at this seeing how that video is ingrained in the useless pop culture trivia spot in my brain.

Had a big run-through for "Whammy!" tonight to test ouft some of things that address the various issues raised by the focus group and it looks like we're on the right track. Still, there is much preparation to do before we start rolling with our first taping next week. A LOT of long nights I anticipate ahead for me at the office in the next week or two. I literally just got home as I type this blog right now...But it's all worth it. I wouldn't trade it for anything...Well, I might for a night with Danny from the "Real World: New Orleans" or hundred gazillion, bazillion bucks (that's a real economics term, by the way...), but ya know what I mean. ;-)

I did it all for the cookie...(or Denny Terrio, where have you gone?!?)

It's that most wonderful time of the year...Girl Scout Cookie time! As always, I've stocked up in Thin Mints and stored them in our freezer. And my boss introduced to the wonders of Samoas. Caramel, coconut, and chocolate...mmmmmm......

Well, it's better late than never...but I've put up a bunch of new pics in my Photo Album section. There are pics so new...they were taken last night! In addition to those, I have pics from the "Holiday at Hogwarts" party, the "Press Your Pot Luck" party and a few surprises here and there too.

Speaking of last night...A bunch of us went to Castle Park in Sherman Oaks last night for a little mini-golfing. As always Ted and Larry kicked butt, while I brought up the rear (Do NOT go there...) with my double-digit score. Tony also did quite well too. You can see the pictures of the carnage in the new photo album page. Another highlight of the evening was this gaggle of high school girls giggling at us all night. They were at the hole ahead of us (please, I beg you...do NOT go there...) and marveled at how many of us guys there were. There were nine of us. They nicknamed us the "Rabbits" because it looked like we kept multiplying from hole to hole (for the love of GOD, do NOT go there!!!!). The young ladies even took a pic of all of us at the Tiki hole.

After our putt-putting, we hung around a bit in the arcade section. It seems like this "Dance, Dance Revolution" game seems like it's becoming a new "in" thing with kids. There was this enclave of high school boys shuffling their feet on what looks like a cross between "Simon," the old Nintendo "Power Pad," and "Dance Fever." I don't get and I ain't gonna get my ass up there in front of everybody dancing around on my two left feet. But Ted put it best when he said, "At least they're dancing and not playing games where they have to beat the crap out of each other."

We ended the night at Islands where I had myself a nice Strawberry Daquiri, thus squashing the rumor that I don't drink. I DO drink...just as long as I can't taste the alcohol. Hence...the strawberry daquiri. Mmmmm....

And after dinner a few of us stayed back at my place to watch "Saturday Night Live" hosted by Jonny Moseley. Mmmmmm....And a big huzzah to the return of Chris Parnell to the cast. I actually remember seeing him in a "Groundlings" show before he first joined the cast of "SNL" during my summer internship out here in '98.

This morning's viewing habits best sums up why my house is such a hodge-podge of pop culture. While I was in my room checking my E-mail while watching "Press Your Luck" reruns on the Game Show Network, Ted and Larry were outside in the living room watching a DVD of Neil Diamond's "The Jazz Singer."

Speaking of DVDs (wow...this blog is such an exercise in stream-of-consciousness), I picked up a few yesterday at "Best Buy." I got myself the making of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and "Cannibal: The Musical." Can't wait to see "Cannibal." I'm a big Trey Parker-Matt Stone fan. I'll go as far to say that "BASEketball" was a damn funny movie...I just hope "Orgazmo" comes out on DVD soon...

My window of opportunity

WOW...Had a really fun time as a guest on Friday night's edition of fortheboys.tv.. A BIG, BIG thanks to Gary and Steve for letting me be on the show and for letting me plug the shows and mandelweb.com! For those of you who saw the show or regularly watch the show, it is quite impressive to see the show happening in person. There's so much to do to put this thing together, yet these two guys are able to pull it off three times a week. Not only that, but they are so nice and so sweet. It kinda helped in making me feel comfortable and relaxed on the show. Honestly, at times, I wasn't even conscious that there was a camera on me when I was being interviewed! I guess it also helps that I've been calling in to the show often so it's not like I haven't talked to the guys before. Ted and Larry even called in to the show too which was very cool. All in all, it was a lot of fun...plus, I found out that Gary and Steve are excellent "Pyramid" players...ALWAYS a plus in my book. :-)

What else...what else..."Whammy" chugs along. The first tape dates loom closer and closer, but I'm confident that we'll get things up and ready by then...We had our first "Survivor" night in a while at the house on Thursday night. The season premiere of "Survivor: Marquesas" was good. There are definitely a few more notable characters in this one that last year's. And I'll say it again...Gabriel...MMMMMMMMMMM....and John, the gay male nurse is another handsome lad too. God bless you, Mark Burnett!